§2.10τέταρτοι δὲ ἡμεῖς προσήχθημεν· καὶ ὁ μὲν ἤρετο τί παθόντες ἔτι ζῶντες ἱεροῦ χωρίου ἐπιβαίημεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντα ἑξῆς διηγησάμεθα.
And we were led up fourth; and he asked what we had suffered (why) that, still living, we had set foot on the sacred place; and we related everything in order.
οὕτω δὴ μεταστησάμενος ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον ἐσκέπτετο καὶ τοῖς συνέδροις ἐκοινοῦτο περὶ ἡμῶν.
Thus indeed, having made us withdraw, he deliberated for a long time and communicated with his assessors about us.
συνήδρευον δὲ ἄλλοι τε πολλοὶ καὶ Ἀριστείδης ὁ δίκαιος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος.
And among many others, Aristides the Just, the Athenian, was sitting in council with him.
ὡς δὲ ἔδοξεν αὐτῷ, ἀπεφήναντο, τῆς μὲν φιλοπραγμοσύνης καὶ τῆς ἀποδημίας, ἐπειδὰν ἀποθάνωμεν, δοῦναι τὰς εὐθύνας, τὸ δὲ νῦν ῥητὸν χρόνον μείναντας ἐν τῇ νήσῳ καὶ συνδιαιτηθέντας τοῖς ἥρωσιν ἀπελθεῖν.
And when it seemed good to him, they pronounced the judgment: that for our curiosity and travel, when we should die, we should render an account, but for the present, having remained for a stated time on the island and having associated with the heroes, we should depart.
ἔταξαν δὲ καὶ τὴν προθεσμίαν τῆς ἐπιδημίας μὴ πλέον μηνῶν ἑπτά.
And they also fixed the term of our stay to be not more than seven months.
§2.11τοὐντεῦθεν αὐτομάτων ἡμῖν τῶν στεφάνων περιρρυέντων ἐλελύμεθα καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἠγόμεθα καὶ εἰς τὸ τῶν Μακάρων συμπόσιον.
Thereupon, our garlands having slipped off of their own accord, we were released and led into the city and to the symposium of the Blessed.
αὐτὴ μὲν οὖν ἡ πόλις πᾶσα χρυσῆ, τὸ δὲ τεῖχος περίκειται σμαράγδινον· πύλαι δέ εἰσιν ἑπτά, πᾶσαι μονόξυλοι κινναμώμινοι· τὸ μέντοι ἔδαφος τὸ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἡ ἐντὸς τοῦ τείχους γῆ ἐλεφαντίνη· ναοὶ δὲ πάντων θεῶν βηρύλλου λίθου ᾠκοδομημένοι, καὶ βωμοὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς μέγιστοι μονόλιθοι ἀμεθύστινοι, ἐφʼ ὧν ποιοῦσι τὰς ἑκατόμβας.
Now the city itself is all of gold, and the wall surrounding it is of emerald; and there are seven gates, all of single-plank cinnamon wood; however, the ground of the city and the land within the wall is of ivory; and temples of all the gods are built of beryl stone, and altars in them are very large monoliths of amethyst, upon which they perform the hecatombs.
περὶ δὲ τὴν πόλιν ῥεῖ ποταμὸς μύρου τοῦ καλλίστου, τὸ πλάτος πήχεων ἑκατὸν βασιλικῶν, βάθος δὲ πέντε, ὥστε νεῖν εὐμαρῶς.
And around the city flows a river of the finest myrrh, the width being a hundred royal cubits, and the depth five, so as to swim easily.
λουτρὰ δέ ἐστιν αὐτοῖς οἶκοι μεγάλοι ὑάλινοι, τῷ κινναμώμῳ ἐγκαιόμενοι· ἀντὶ μέντοι τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν ταῖς πυέλοις δρόσος θερμὴ ἔστιν.
And their baths are large glass houses, heated with cinnamon; however, instead of water in the tubs there is warm dew.
§2.12ἐσθῆτι δὲ χρῶνται ἀραχνίοις λεπτοῖς, πορφυροῖς.
And for clothing they use thin purple cobwebs.
αὐτοὶ δὲ σώματα μὲν οὐκ ἔχουσιν, ἀλλʼ ἀναφεῖς καὶ ἄσαρκοί εἰσιν, μορφὴν δὲ καὶ ἰδέαν μόνην ἐμφαίνουσιν, καὶ ἀσώματοι ὄντες ὅμως συνεστᾶσιν καὶ κινοῦνται καὶ φρονοῦσι καὶ φωνὴν ἀφιᾶσιν, καὶ ὅλως ἔοικε γυμνή τις ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτῶν περιπολεῖν τὴν τοῦ σώματος ὁμοιότητα περικειμένη· εἰ γοῦν μὴ ἅψαιτό τις, οὐκ ἂν ἐξελέγξειε μὴ εἶναι σῶμα τὸ ὁρώμενον· εἰσὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ σκιαὶ ὀρθαί, οὐ μέλαιναι.
And they themselves do not have bodies, but are intangible and fleshless, displaying only shape and appearance, and though being bodiless they nevertheless exist together and move and think and utter speech, and in general their soul seems to walk about naked, wearing only the likeness of a body; at any rate, unless one touched them, one could not prove that what is seen is not a body; for they are like upright shadows, only not black.
γηράσκει δὲ οὐδείς, ἀλλʼ ἐφʼ ἧς ἂν ἡλικίας ἔλθῃ παραμένει.
And no one grows old, but remains at whatever age he arrived.
οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ νὺξ παρʼ αὐτοῖς γίνεται, οὐδὲ ἡμέρα πάνυ λαμπρά· καθάπερ δὲ τὸ λυκαυγὲς ἤδη πρὸς ἕω, μηδέπω ἀνατείλαντος ἡλίου, τοιοῦτο φῶς ἐπέχει τὴν γῆν.
Furthermore, neither does night come among them, nor indeed a very bright day; but like the twilight already towards dawn, when the sun has not yet risen, such a light holds the land.
καὶ μέντοι καὶ ὥραν μίαν ἴσασιν τοῦ ἔτους· αἰεὶ γὰρ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἔαρ ἐστὶ καὶ εἷς ἄνεμος πνεῖ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὁ ζέφυρος.
And indeed they know but one season of the year; for it is always spring among them, and one wind blows among them, the Zephyr.
§2.13ἡ δὲ χώρα πᾶσι μὲν ἄνθεσιν, πᾶσι δὲ φυτοῖς ἡμέροις τε καὶ σκιεροῖς τέθηλεν· αἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄμπελοι δωδεκάφοροί εἰσιν καὶ κατὰ μῆνα ἕκαστον καρποφοροῦσιν· τὰς δὲ ῥοιὰς καὶ τὰς μηλέας καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ὀπώραν ἔλεγον εἶναι τρισκαιδεκάφορον· ἑνὸς γὰρ μηνὸς τοῦ παρʼ αὐτοῖς Μινῴου δὶς καρποφορεῖν· ἀντὶ δὲ πυροῦ οἱ στάχυες ἄρτον ἕτοιμον ἐπʼ ἄκρων φύουσιν ὥσπερ μύκητας.
And the country flourishes with all flowers, and with all cultivated and shady plants; for the vines are twelve-bearing and bear fruit in every single month; and they said that the pomegranates and the apple trees and the other fruit-trees were thirteen-bearing; for in one month, the Minoyan among them, they bear fruit twice; and instead of wheat, the ears of corn grow ready-made bread on their tips, like mushrooms.
πηγαὶ δὲ περὶ τὴν πόλιν ὕδατος μὲν πέντε καὶ ἑξήκοντα καὶ τριακόσιαι, μέλιτος δὲ ἄλλαι τοσαῦται, μύρου δὲ πεντακόσιαι, μικρότεραι μέντοι αὗται, καὶ ποταμοὶ γάλακτος ἑπτὰ καὶ οἴνου ὀκτώ.
And around the city are three hundred and sixty-five springs of water, and as many others of honey, and five hundred of myrrh—these however are smaller—and seven rivers of milk and eight of wine.
§2.14τὸ δὲ συμπόσιον ἔξω τῆς πόλεως πεποίηνται ἐν τῷ Ἠλυσίῳ καλουμένῳ πεδίῳ· λειμὼν δέ ἐστιν κάλλιστος καὶ περὶ αὐτὸν ὕλη παντοία πυκνή, ἐπισκιάζουσα τοὺς κατακειμένους.
And they have made the symposium outside the city in the field called Elysian; and it is a most beautiful meadow, and around it is a dense wood of every kind, shading those who recline.
καὶ στρωμνὴν μὲν ἐκ τῶν ἀνθῶν ὑποβέβληνται, διακονοῦνται δὲ καὶ παραφέρουσιν ἕκαστα οἱ ἄνεμοι πλήν γε τοῦ οἰνοχοεῖν· τούτου γὰρ οὐδὲν δέονται, ἀλλʼ ἔστι δένδρα περὶ τὸ συμπόσιον ὑάλινα μεγάλα τῆς διαυγεστάτης ὑάλου, καὶ καρπός ἐστι τῶν δένδρων τούτων ποτήρια παντοῖα καὶ τὰς κατασκευὰς καὶ τὰ μεγέθη.
And they have spread bedding of flowers under themselves, and the winds minister and bring everything to them except indeed for pouring the wine; for of this they have no need, but there are large glass trees around the symposium of the clearest glass, and the fruit of these trees is cups of all kinds both in shapes and sizes.
ἐπειδὰν οὖν παρίῃ τις ἐς τὸ συμπόσιον, τρυγήσας ἓν ἢ καὶ δύο τῶν ἐκπωμάτων παρατίθεται, τὰ δὲ αὐτίκα οἴνου πλήρη γίνεται.
Whenever therefore anyone comes to the symposium, having plucked one or even two of the cups, he places them beside himself, and these immediately become full of wine.
οὕτω μὲν πίνουσιν, ἀντὶ δὲ τῶν στεφάνων αἱ ἀηδόνες καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ μουσικὰ ὄρνεα ἐκ τῶν πλησίον λειμώνων τοῖς στόμασιν ἀνθολογοῦντα κατανείφει αὐτοὺς μετʼ ᾠδῆς ὑπερπετόμενα.
In this way they drink, and instead of garlands the nightingales and the other musical birds, gathering flowers in their mouths from the nearby meadows, snow them down upon them, flying overhead with song.
καὶ μὴν καὶ μυρίζονται ὧδε· νεφέλαι πυκναὶ ἀνασπάσασαι μύρον ἐκ τῶν πηγῶν καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ ἐπιστᾶσαι ὑπὲρ τὸ συμπόσιον ἠρέμα τῶν ἀνέμων ὑποθλιβόντων ὕουσι λεπτὸν ὥσπερ δρόσον.
And indeed they also anoint themselves with myrrh thus: thick clouds, having drawn up myrrh from the springs and the river and having stood above the symposium, rain it down gently as a fine dew, the winds pressing them under.